The number of colleges and universities that have adopted institutional neutrality have increased considerably since the attack on Hamas against Israel on October 7, 2023, According to a new report From Heterodox Academy, a non -profit organization focused on the diversity of points of view.
Before the reprisals of Israel and the demonstrations which followed, only eight institutions had official policies discouraging the administrators to comment on the socio -political events which did not have a direct impact on their campus. At the end of 2024, 140 additional institutions adopted institutional neutrality.
The community and inclusion, academic freedom and public confidence were among the main reasons why colleges and universities have created neutrality policies. These institutions are now used around 15% of the student population in the United States and Canada.
The Heterodox Academy, as well as the Foundation of Individual Rights and Expression and the Academic Freedom Alliance, published a declaration Last year, encouraging regents and university administrators to adopt institutional neutrality in the light of the intensification of campus demonstrations.
Destiny of the college:: Students list their hopes, their concerns and their dream schools
To what extent was political political adoption led by pressure?
Campus demonstrations attracted significant public reactions and legislators who believe they have fueled anti -Semitism. Political pressures have led certain university and university presidents to resign recently in Columbia Lost $ 400 million For federal contracts and the Ministry of Education threatened punish 60 other institutions.
In public universities, which constituted the majority of the list, the boards of directors were most often responsible for becoming neutral. About a third of these decisions followed the legislation of the state, for example, Indiana, Utah and North Carolina.
Only 33 private institutions have adopted institutional neutrality. The majority of these decisions were motivated by the president or the bodies of teachers. All the schools of Ivy League – which have been faced with a severe public and political examination on campus demonstrations – have changed. Among other notable private universities on the list include Stanford University, Johns Hopkins University and the University of South California.
(Tagstotranslate) Academic freedom